CYPRUS IS among 12 European Union countries that have failed to draw up emergency plans to prepare for possible industrial accidents near plants dealing with hazardous substances, the EU’s executive said on Wednesday.
The European Commission said it had stepped up legal action against those nations for breaching EU law on the subject, laid out in the so-called Serveso II Directive.
The offending countries are Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
“Although we cannot eliminate the risk of industrial accidents in modern societies, we can strive to minimise the risks of such accidents happening and to mitigate their consequences,” Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said.
The Commission said it was sending the countries final written warnings. That is the last step before going to court, which can eventually levy fines for failures to follow EU rules.
There are three formal stages in the legal process: a first ‘letter of formal notice’ which asks questions on a particular issue; second, a ‘reasoned opinion’ which confirms that the Commission considers that there is a potential infringement of EU law exists; and finally a referral to the European Court of Justice for a ruling on the legal obligations involved.
In total, the European Commission decided to take further steps in 550 legal cases “against those Member States that the Commission believes have breached their obligations under the EC Law.”
Among the many other decisions in the package, the Commission issued a letter of formal notice against 13 member states for not submitting national action plans on energy-efficiency.
The Commission also issued letters of formal notice to 14 countries and reasoned opinions to five countries for failing to report information on climate change.
Apart from chemical plant safety, Cyprus was named and shamed on the subject of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Commission accepted the island’s national plan for CO2 emission allowances for the 2008-2012 trading period on condition that certain changes are made, including a reduction in the total number of emission allowances proposed.
The cleared annual allocation is 5.48 million tonnes of CO2 allowances, 23 per cent less than Cyprus had proposed.
The Emissions Trading Scheme ensures that greenhouse gas emissions from the energy and industry sectors covered are cut at least cost to the economy, thus helping the EU and its Member States to meet their emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
The EU’s Executive also agreed to close a case pending against Cyprus regarding the spring hunting of turtledoves.
In June 2007 the Commission sent a first written warning to Cyprus regarding a two-day derogation permitting the spring hunting of turtledoves on May 6 and 9, 2007.
The Cypriot authorities agreed not to renew the derogation, and the Commission has decided to close the case, although it will continue to monitor the situation in the future to ensure that any derogations comply fully with the Birds Directive.
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